In this day of mergers, Hanover plans opening of not 1, but 2 museums: Linked in with neat York County history stuff, March 20, 2012

The other day, Hanover unveiled plans for an expanded and relocated fire museum. Now comes 75th-anniversary plans by R.H. Sheppard Co. to develop a museum on the 500 block of Broadway in Hanover. The Hanover Evening Sun reports that the 4,000-square-foot museum’s exhibits will range from early tractor engines to its manufacture of heavy-duty power-steering gears and systems. Here, antique tractors to be placed on display were among those built from 1949 to 1956. These developments are interesting. At a time when museums on consolidating, Hanover is opening new halls. The question always is whether the enthusiasm and vision and dollars of museum founders persist as the years pass. (Click on photograph to enlarge.) Meanwhile, York County should consider a marketing campaign around the concept: Land of Museums. Check out this list of such sites. Also of interest: Furniture and motorcycles, York County icons, come together in this Hanover factory-warehouse.

Neat stuff from all over … .

We’ve blogged about Pennsylvania Long Rifles, aka Kentucky Long Rifles.

Or vice versa.

Anyway, now we have Lancaster Long Rifles coming in the form of an exhibit at Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum.

The exhibit is titled “The Golden Age of an American Art Form: the Lancaster Long Rifle.”

This is an image of the Frederick George Fainot rifle from around 1770. The image can be attributed to the book, “The Lancaster Long Rifle,” written by Patrick Hornberger and John Kolar, the guest curators of an exhibit on the rifles at the Landis Valley museum.

The exhibit of 50 rifles will run through the end of 2012.

“York and Lancaster Counties have some things in common: not only do we share a river, but an affinity for making chocolate, snack foods, and Pennsylvania Long Rifles,” an email from the museum stated.

The battle for bellies: What does it take to put on a Pennsylvania Dutch food feast? Check out: Big volunteer effort and lots of turkey and potatoes. Here’s a taste of this dinner down Jefferson way: 625 pounds of turkey; 575 pounds of sausage; 260 pounds of ham; 75 pounds of chicken; 625 pounds of potatoes; 35 dozen eggs; 29 pounds of coffee; 65 pans of schnitz un knepp; 100 pounds of cabbage; 225 pounds of sugar; 340 pies; 50 quarts of schnitz; 30 gallons of ice cream; 100 pounds of bread cubes; and 18 large pots of potpie.

Blog post of the day, I: The York Civil War Roundtable is changing its venue this month. But the program is the same: The Battle of Pea Ridge, as Cannonball’s Scott Mingus points out about Wednesday, March 21’s event.

Blog post of the day, II: Yorkblogger June Lloyd is continuing the pursuit of the whereabouts of Declaration of Independence signer James Smith’s original gravestone. The one in the First Presbyterian Cemetery is marker No. 2. Considering June’s tenacity as a researcher, she’ll find it.

About the Author

About the Author

Before retirement in April 2019, Jim McClure was editor of the York Daily Record/Sunday News and associated digital products since May 2004. He also served as state editor for Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland for Gannett’s USA TODAY Network. He is the author or coauthor of seven books on York County history and holds a master’s in American Studies from Penn State Harrisburg, where his research focus was on York County journalism history.

York Town Square explores both the rapidly changing world of journalism and the landscape of regional history. History and journalism are part of a continuum, and this site hopes to intrigue readers on both accounts. See additional York Town Square posts here.